windows xp

[Elaine]

I've just reinstalled windows and tried to download service pack 2, it seemed to stall and not complete, should i have just left it, does anyone know how long it takes to install?

Tanks

Elaine

[figure]

Why not try Service pack 3? I did it yesterday and had no problems.

[vehelpfulguy]

XP SP2 is HUGE. The file is about 266mb so could take hours to download, depending on your broadband speed.

DONT download XP SP3 yet as it has not been officially released by Microsoft, although some test versions have been released.

I have heard that XP SP3 will be released any day now, so maybe hold off with XP SP2 and download SP3 when it comes out.

SP3 is likely to be the last SP released for Windows XP.

[figure]

vehelpfulguy - did I do something illegal or is SP 3 still in the workshop? I got it off of Microsoft website and so far I've encountered no problems. Should I uninstall it then?

[vehelpfulguy]

>The file is about 266mb so could take hours to download, >depending on your broadband speed.

I should say this is the maximum file size, depending what you have installed it may be smaller, but it can still take a long time to download.

If you want to download SP2 as a separate file to be installed at a later date (or to put on CD for a later date) you can download it from here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/Search.aspx ?displaylang=en

Naviagate to SP2 then download it (here the file is 266Mb).

Once downloaded you can then put it on CD and keep it in case you need to install it again.

[vehelpfulguy]

>did I do something illegal or is SP 3 still in the workshop?

No you did nothing illegal, but you probably downloaded what is known as a Release Candidate (RC).

This is code that is very nearly ready, but MAY be changed before the final SP ships.

Can you show me the page you download it from. If you look there will probably be a note to say it is someting like RC2 (Release Candidate 2).

I dont think you need to uninstall it, but when you come to download future XP fixes you may get some sort of warning message (only guessing as I have no idea if XP makes a note that it is NOT the final SP3 you have installed).

[ACtheTROLL]

VHG is right - sp3 is at RC2 and other TLAs
(three letter abbreviations!!!!)

Its not illegal ... but not wise ....
If there is an uninstall option ... use it .... the point of RCx is that idiots like me run it on a machine that doesn't matter ....to try and break it.

at RC2 it's usually almost ready ... but until it's released there could be a last minute change due to something serious .... and you don't want to be the one to find it (even then .... there will be changes).

Elaine

The best way to do it is to slipstream SP2 into your old CD (under some conditions windows won't accept the old one as genuine)

however .... to answer your question .... it takes bl**dy ages.
especially if you use the "punters" version which is quite a small initial download .... all it is is a downloader ... so when you run it ... it goes off and does the download (which takes 30-50 mins)

it then start the install ... puts all the files into a temp folder ..... then it examines your system to see which options need updating .... doing this takes a fair bit of processing ... but with a decent amount of memory - very little disc space .... so from your point of view is just sits there looking dumb. for 20 mins or so

(easiest way to see it "finkin'" is ctr+alt+del and look at the performance .... you'll see the processor processing.

I can't remember just how long (I slipstreamed ages ago) but you are talking serious time.

if you bail out ... it needs to undo everything it's already done .....
if you switch off ... there is a chance that it won't be able to ... and you'll get problems.

best way is use this direct link
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta

[figure]

Vehelpfulguy, this what I installed. Thanks for answering my question.

Troll - thank you. I will remove it and wait until it's out.

Again, thank you both.

[vehelpfulguy]

figure, the page you linked me to does not actualy have the service pack on there yet.

There are just 2 files that describe the service pack, one is a PDF file, the other an XPS file, both quite small. There is no actual software on there so I am not sure what you installed.

When the service pack comes out it will probably be a very large file.

[vehelpfulguy]

btw, the link you set up for me did not work, but I managed to get there in the end.

Many Microsoft web sites use the character string F A M I L Y I D.

But the last 3 letters (Y I D) spell out a racist term so it is usually replaced in Answerbank with asterisks, as in your case.

I just overtyped the asterisks with the 8 letters and it worked.

[figure]

VHG - are you speaking to me in you post above this post? If so I don't understand what you mean.

Also, I've just clicked on 'this' , the link I posted and it's a different page altogether. I dunno ....

Thanks tho!

[vehelpfulguy]

figure, yes I am speaking to you.

If you click on the link it opens a browser window, and if you look at the URL (the long address) you will see it has seven asterisks in the string.

This is because the address has been censored by answerbank to remove what it thinks is a racist string (Y I D)

If you overtype the seven asterisks in the browser window with the letters F A M I L Y I D (no spaces) then it will now take you to the correct page.

This is nothing you have done wrong, it is just unfortunate that answerbank acts as a censor making some text unreadable.

Like the town Scunthorpe (lets see what it does to that)

[figure]

OMG! Did AB think I was posting porn? lol

You are such a nice guy, VHG! x

I found where it's possible to order a servicepack CD.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/u pdates/sp2/cdorder/en_us/default.mspx